Blogging about all types of photography and ephemera - from vintage snapshots, tintypes and cdv's to ephemeral items found along my way.

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Thursday, January 8, 2015

IT'S A SNAP! - GROUP SHOW OF VINTAGE SNAPSHOTS FROM COLLECTORS AROUND THE UNITED STATES

I'm really excited to announce that I'm curating a group show of
snapshots from 19 collectors of snapshots in the United States.
The show is going to be during the month of February at MAP in
Easthampton, Mass. I need a little help from you guys to raise some
money so that I can make the show as wonderful as it can be. Can you
help????

Easthampton, MA, January 10, 2015 – Can
snapshots be art? You bet ya! “It’s a Snap!” Is a show of anonymous
snapshots from the collections of some of the most prominent collectors of
found photos in the United States.

The exhibition will be on view throughout
February at MAP (Mill Arts Project) located in Eastworks, 116 Pleasant Street,
Room 137, in Easthampton, MA. Join the opening reception during Art Walk
Easthampton on Saturday, February 14 from 5-8PM, with entertainment by Zack
Danziger. The exhibition is free and open to the public, Monday, Wednesday and
Friday, 12-5 PM.

In the age of the selfie, it is not surprising
that the paper snapshot still holds a special place in our culture.
Snapshots are the rage and have been the subject of books and major museum
exhibitions in the past few years. The personal printed photo has always been a
way for humans to record family, friends and important life events. They are
about memory and nostalgia. Now more than ever with digital media dominating
our photo memory making and printed photos disappearing from our lexicon,
snapshots exert a powerful tug on us. We still live in an age where boxes
or albums of family photos are tucked away in a closet or attic. To take
them out and view them (or to see them exhibited in a museum or gallery) is to
engage in a voyeuristic ritual not unlike watching a reality TV show. Snapshots
tell us about social conventions, fashion, hairstyles, and what was considered
important enough to be captured via the camera. They are simply history we can
see.

Curator Stacy Waldman says, “I want to show
people how an anonymous snapshot, sometimes with quirks and mistakes, can be
magical.”

Waldman has been dealing and collecting in
photographs since 1999. She is excited by the prospect of this
exhibition, where collected snapshots can be seen as art. She sets up a
photo and ephemera shows throughout the country. Her collections can be found
at facebook.com/houseofmirthphotos and houseofmirthphotos.blogspots.com

One participating collector in the exhibition
is Robert E. Jackson who has collected snapshots since 1997. In 2007, his
collection formed the basis of The National Gallery of Art’s show and catalog
entitled: “The Art of the American Snapshot: 1888-1978”.

Jackson notes, “It is an honor to have Stacy
Waldman ask me to participate in a group show whose members have such good eyes
for images and who all have such wonderful collections. I try never to
miss an opportunity to share with a larger audience the exciting photo medium
which is the snapshot.”

WM Hunt, another collector in “It’s a Snap”, is
a champion of photography. He has been looking at and talking about
pictures for many years. He has written two books “The Unseen Eye:
Photographs from the Unconscious” and “Hunt’s Three-Ring Circus”. He
lives quietly in New York City surrounded by stuff.

Hunt says, “People get hung up on the notion of
legitimacy when it comes to photographs and specifically snapshots. 'If I
can take them, how can they be art?' My advice. Relax.”

The full roster of collectors whose photos will
appear in the show include:

The
Mill Arts Project is a collaboration between Easthampton City Arts+ and
Eastworks that offers gallery space to incubate new curatorial voices in a
community context. While curators bring a vision and dedication, Eastworks and
ECA+ assist with space and offer an intensive educational curatorial and
organizational guide as well as assistance in project direction. Learn more
about ECA+ at easthamptoncityarts.com/MAP.

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About Me

I'm a collector and dealer of vintage photos and ephemera. You can find my wares at www.houseofmirthphotos.com and as houseofmirth on ebay. I also set up at several different shows throuhgout the year.